Exercising apparatus for straightening the legs.



No. 7|4,s09. Patented Nov. 25, I902. F.LANGEL. EXERCISING APPARATUS FOR STRAIGHTENING THE LEGS. (Application filed Dec. 6, 1901.) (No Model.)

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FRANZ LANGEL, OF COLOGNE, GERMANY.

EXERCISING APPARATUS FOR STRAIGHTENING THE LEGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 714,309, dated November 25,

Application filed December 6, 1901. Serial No. 84,936. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANZ LANGEL, a subject of the King of Prussia, German Emperor, and a residentof Cologne, inthe Province of the Rhine, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire, have invented new and useful Improvements in Exercising Apparatus for Straightening the Legs, (for which I applied for a patent in Germany on April 15, 1901; in England on November 23, 1901; in France on November 25,1901,) of which the following is a specification.

The method of straightening abnormallygrown legs by fastening the feet to a block, which the patient has to pull toward him by drawing in his legs, during which process a certain resistance produced by an adaquate tension arrangement has to be overcome, is already known. The drawing of the block toward the body is repeated at definite inter- Vals after the manner of an exercise. In the apparatus under discussion, however, no

such tension arrangement and no external re-' sistance at all are employed, the fact that the sinews (of the legs) in question are stretchedwhen the feet are fixed in such a position that they form an angle of one hun-.

dred and eighty degrees being made use of. At the same time, if necessary, an improvement in the position of the feet is effected by this means. For the purposein viewawooden block with straps is used, as hereinafter more fully explained.

Reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 shows the apparatus in parallel perspective. Fig. 2 is a top view of the apparatus with the feet fixed thereon. Fig. 3 is a top View, as Fig. 2, showing another position of the feet.

The said wooden block has a plane surface a and a roof-like surface I). In addition there are two straps c c for securing the feet, which straps can be passed through the holes (1 d and over the notches f f or g g, according to requirements.

The person who is going to do the exercises sits on a chair and lays his or her feet on the Wooden block, which lies on a chair opposite. The feet are then strapped on the plane surface a by an assistant in the manner shown by the top View, Fig. 2. In this case the a way that the straps are not passed, as shown in Fig. 1,

over the notches g, but over the notches f. The feet are pushed together heel to heel and fastened tightly. to the plane surface a by means of the straps, so as to form an angle of onehundred and eighty degrees. The position of the legs up to this point is such that the knees are far apart, for when they are in this position it is possible to strap down the feet, as above described, without using any force.

The exercise commences by the patient attempting to bring the knees together, the apparatus being thereby naturally moved in the direction of the legs, so that it moves away from the body, which movement, lhowever, can readily take place, owing to the smoothness of the under surface of the block. By these movements the sinews in question are subjected to high tension without any tension arrangement and without any external resistance having to be overcome, the said sinews being thus brought more and more to their proper position and length by continually moving the apparatus to and fro. As soon as the knees can without undue tension be brought close together when the feet are strapped to the plane surface the position of the feet is altered by their being strapped on the roof-like surface I). For this purpose the straps, as shown by the top view, Fig. 3,.are passed over the notches g. In consequence of the roof-like form of the surface on which the feet now rest they are held secure in such angle between them is greater than one hundred and eighty degrees-that is to say,that the toes point slightly downward. With the feet in this position, which causes a still greater tension of the sinews than the first position, the exercises are continued until, as before, the legs can be brought close together without undue tension. The apparatus can also be used for attaining a correct position of the feet, as it accustoms them to the normal outwardly-directed position of the toes, and thus removes any tendency of the latter to turn inward or to point straight ahead.

If only one leg he of abnormal growth, the exercises can be done with that leg alone, in which case the desired result can be recognized as attained, when the said leg can be stretched out perfectly straight. However, even in such a case exercising with both legs is generally to be recommended. Finally, it may be remarked that the said exercising apparatus is excellently well adapted for all kinds of leg gymnastics, as it has. the most beneficial effect upon the sinews, and, moreover, perfectly regular development of the latter is rarely met with.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. An exercising apparatus for straightening the legs merely consistingin a block adapted to be placed on a chair for being moved to and fro and having straps adapted to hold the feet in such a position that they-pushed together heel to heel-form an angle of nearly FRANZ LANGEL.

WVitnesses:

CHARLES L. ALLIEPIE, CARL SCHMITT. 

